SINGAPORE MODEST FASHION WEEKEND | DAY TWO

After an hour and a half sleep (I had breakfast at 5.30am because I was pretty keen on the breakfast banquet of 100 dishes that M Hotel had laid out) and discovering that Iman, her manager Balsam and I were all staying at the same hotel we made our way to the convention hall together after breakfast (and a few wardrobe malfunctions later). We made it on time to the wonderful and talented Minluna's styling workshop. 

On day two my first outfit of the day was:

Stripe Knot Shirt Thobe | Zahra Rose Alazaibi

Textured white trousers | H&M

Black woven scarf | H&M

Barely There Sandals | Newlook

This was quite an effortless look for me, it worked perfectly with the overpoweringly humid Singaporean whether. The shirt was actually part of my graduate collection which I never ended up launching but will be available to purchase soon.

Minluna discussed and styled hijabs as well as current fashion trends. We actually learnt a great deal about how to style chiffon styles (especially since in London everybody loves volume in their scarves so its something we rarely see). After watching her (and her assistant) style the hijabs I've decided to give chiffon hijabs a good try (I have a few from Verona Collection I've been saving). You'll notice in the day two blog that the hijab styling actually has a lot to do with the under-cap - who would've thought? 

Minluna discussed how to make hijab a apart of your outfit rather than just something which has to be there- I think we're all guilty of slapping on that old black hijab with our beautifully styled outfits.

On the second day I attended ALL the fashion shows once more. Collections were ANZA, Girlfriends, Owl by Nora Danish. Owl's entertainment was on point- Nora broke out into rap with guest artist Warisn as her collection debuted the catwalk, the collection itself was 1920's inspired Malay clothing, a nice twist on tradition. Anza was among my favourite collections with their beautifully draped sequin skirts.

 

The second set of shows included; LullySelb, Pure the Lable, Rosita By Hussin, and Mimpikita. 

  

Mimpikita's collection reminded me of versace regal collection with a Malay twist and the adored pastel colour palette, I loved it- especially the accessories.

 

The entertainment in between shows was absolutely phenomenal, I have never heard or seen so many talented people all in one room.Even though some songs were in Malay they were so catchy that we found ourselves jammin' (oh my goodness I just used the word jammin' -do people even still use that?) to the beat and singing along.

  

@awirafael | @aisyaah_aziz | @sufierashid 

Aisyaah was so lovely, I fan girl-ed after seeing her live. Beauty, vocals and the brains!

I loved Pure the Label from the moment I saw their promo video for SG Fashion Week. The lucidity of the silhouettes combined with the gorgeous simplicity and no-fuss approach to the fabrics works beautifully. All of the pieces can be mixed and matched, I especially love the idea of mixing the new collection silks with the organic nature of the previous collection. It came as no surprise that many of the pieces sold out during SG Modest Fashion Week. 

 

    

The third show consisted of Lulu Alhadad and Fiziwoo. I met Fiziwoo in London previously so I knew exactly what to expect from this show and they really set the bar. They of course did not fail to deliver.

 

The final set was No Skin Attatched, Beta Azee, lastly the well anticipated Rico Rinaldi show. The Rico show consisted of two segments- the ready to wear collection and the bridal wear collection, both were absolutely beautiful, the bridal wear gracefully stole the show.

 

So Rico, Tell us about beginnings of Rico Rinaldi.

The brand Rico Rinadaldi itself was launched in 2006 and I was actually just graduated from university. I was a fashion and retail student. However, I discovered my love for fashion when I was 10 years old. I had my mums sewing machine stored in my room, it was her hobby - but she didnt have time for it, so left it in my room. Thats when I started to play around with it and created little things like pencil cases and purses. From there I taught myself how to sew and make basic clothing. I started to study at university to brush up my skill in sewing, designing and sketching where everything was very hands on and I joined a lot of competitions. Thats where I believed I gained the most experience and met a lot of fashion people and media. From there my passion to fashion was really growing and I started to have my own label slowly.

 

What do you look forward to designing the most when you're beginning a new collection and why?

whenever I want to create a new collection the aim is to always do something which I didnt do with my previous collection. So once I finish a collection I will move forward and leave everything else behind. The inspiration is generally derived from what the mood is when I make that decision, sometimes that is inspired with travel, my surroundings, clients, people I see, day-to-day interactions - this what drives me to create  collection.

Then I will relate the inspiration to the current market- what my clients want, so that whatever I create has market value and translates into business. I believe that designers can have the wildest inspiration but at the end of the day it needs to translate into sales. clientele are very important.

 

If you could win over any consumer market around the world, which would it be?

I want to have very strong relations with the Muslim markets, especially the high end Muslim market. I think that the muslim market is really interesting because people always thought that Islamic fashion is only about wearing black - for me its about educating, breaking barriers and enhancing themes; layering, injecting beautiful fabrics, amazing silhouettes. So I think the muslim world is one of the best consumers for my deigns - I think that with Islamic fashions we can generate more income.

I loved interviewing Rico and really appreciated his honesty and rooting his designs to his own background, instead of purely focusing on winning over the European and Western market like many designers do. I have a lot of respect for designers that cater to their home audiences first and foremost.

After the show its safe to say we all felt exhausted so what better way to celebrate and cement our new friendships than with traditional Singaporean food? Look out for our evening shenanigans in my Vlog, but for now, day three is still to come.

Photos curtesy of @MediacorpSuria and @JulyPhotogrophy.sg

SINGAPORE MODEST FASHION WEEKEND | DAY ONE

I CANNOT BELIEVE IM BACK IN SINGAPORE - one of my favourite cities. 

I touched down in Singapore for 10am this morning after almost twenty four hours of travelling - it wasn't as tiring as it sounds to be honest, and I quite enjoy being forcefully taken away from work and my phone. 

  

When I arrived at Singapore I was greeted by not only my wonderful Singaporean ladies but a beautiful blacked out Audi driver form Uncle Sams transport. Uncle Sam were solely responsible for picking up and dropping off guests to SG fashion week and they did such a fantastic job, always punctual, polite and perfect! Thank you Uncle Sams.

During my stay in Singapore I was hosted by the wonderful M hotel. Where we were greeted by fresh fruit, chocolate, a lovely welcome note aside from the beautifully put together room. 

The hotel is fresh, minimal and oozes luxury, it lies in the heart of the business district not far from the centre of Singapore. Our chauffeur rides were only around 10 minutes long to Marina Bay Sands (around $6 in an uber and $2 by MRT - which by the way is only a 3 minute walk from the hotel) and even less to the convention centre where Singapore Modest fashion weekend was hosted. The location is not only perfect for business individuals but also for tourists looking to be away from the hustle and bustle in the evenings. Although it's on a busy main road, little noise from the roads can be heard from the rooms.

 

 

I cannot express my love for the hotels breakfast, there are probably more than 100 varied components to make up your breakfast feast. Pick and choose and much as you like (they even had babybel- made the early starts completely worth while). There are hash browns, 5 variations of egg, croissants, fruits, salads, currys, noodles, rice and various other feast foods - definitely one the of the highlights of our stay. 

We also had access to the modern GYM and pool area which I TRIED to make use of in the mornings. 

  

So the reason I came back to this wonderful reason - Singapore Modest Fashion Weekend (SMFW) 2017 it's the most prestigious Modest Fashion showcase in Singapore, jointly organised by RoseValley and MediaCorp. It is the largest fashion gathering for local and international designers, where they feature the latest in Modest Fashion designs.

I was there to report on behalf of Modest Fashion London, if you follow them on Instagram you would've seen the catwalk reported live on their story and you can also catch the catwalk on their Instagram videos too.

I arrived at the venue for two pm before the first scheduled event so I decided to take a walk around the booth area in the venue and checked out the local talent and brands before being greeted by the organisers who introduced me to fellow influencers. I met Iman @fashionwithfaith Omaya @omayaxein and  singapores finest: Dalillah @dalillahismail. We all had a chance to catch up back stage before the networking afternoon tea for both influencers and businesses, which was assembled for us to share out views on collaborations and our own personal experiences on social media platforms. 

 

Photos from Mediacorp Suria.

We took questions from the interviewer Nura @nura_j as well as the business panel to answer as best we could from our own personal experiences. It was interesting to see both sides of the social media business and how each of us viewed the world of collaboration and internet marketing.  

To summarise the talk; I strongly reiterated the fact that There are many media personalities but I think the most important thing is maintaining your individuality in a some-what saturated market, I just feel like if brands approach you then it's because they like what YOU are doing (out of everybody else). It's also important to maintain a good working and professional relationship and meet deadlines which are set to you. 

We were also asked about monetary marketing and what motivates us. I personally believe that it's subjective to each influencer and it depends on weather it's a full time commitment or if it's simply a hobby. For me, it comes down to maintaining flexibility, especially when brands are starting up, they may not always be able to provide you with financial benefits however if you love the product (which you should if you're promoting it) then sometimes free products are a good enough incentive. Equally I think it's just as important to remember that taking photographs, building an audience and promoting products is time consuming (no matter how effortless the outcome is) you have to be able to maintain your life without being indebted. 

After the Q and A session we enjoyed our afternoon tea and finger foods whilst mingling and taking photos with everyone before being seated for the first set of shows. 

For the first outfit of the weekend I wore an old Zara pinstripe waistcoat, wide smart trousers from H&M, barely there sandals and a vintage clutch bag with a Fendi monster keyring. I was aiming for comfort after such a long day of travelling... plus my feet were a little swollen from the flight so open toe heels were perfect.

The first shows began at five pm and included brands; Adriana Yariqa and Sazzy Falak. 

My favourite from the first showing was the Sazzy Falak collection. I fell deeply in love with the gliding silks floating against the feminine silhouettes - you'll have to whiteness this in my blog to appreciate just how beautiful this vision truly is.

  

The second set of shows consisted of designers; One-Ra by Dynas Mokhtar, Ria Miranda.

Ria Miranda reminded me so much of a traditional version of Yeezy with their cool layering and pattern clash, even the colour palette. Initially I wasn't completely sold on the first few looks but I fell completely in love when I saw the collection come together as a whole - you can tell that the collection has been thoroughly thought through and has a strong concept behind it. It comes across as bohemian but somehow knotted together with the power of pointed stilettos and bold silhouettes. 

 

 

Photos from Mediacorp Suria.

I love how each hijab look has a slightly varying style and colour palette but is uniform in the execution. The frills and flounces make it bang on this seasons trend. Congratulations to Ria Miranda.

  

We got back to the hotel at around 12am, we were exhausted, excited and pretty enthusiastic to venture around this little country. A place that really felt magical last year when I visited was the Gardens by the Bay. So we decided to drop by Arab street then continue to the gardens. By the time we arrived it was around 1.30AM. It was poetically deserted yet filled with natures alternative night-life. We enjoyed each others company... and that of our social media too, haha.

I'm writing all of this here, in the dark, at four in the morning (after getting back to the hotel after an impromptu night which consisted of two rounds of double stacked fish-o-fillet McDonald's, a three am walks around the marina park with Iman and Belsam) my poor eyes are slowly closing... plus I have an early start... plus jet lag from being in three different time zones, so until tomorrow my loves. 

I hope you enjoy the day one coverage and vlog (coming soon). Check out Iman's here and Omaya's here.